Syr Common Council Loses 4-term Lawmaker Nader Maroun Who Backed Neighborhoods and Debate on Issues

Nader Maroun (L) spent 8 years as the 5th district councilor and leaves the council at the end of this year.

Credit Scott Willis/WAER News

The Syracuse Common Council loses a familiar face this year in four-term councilor Nader Maroun. The democrat was known for asking his share of questions and not blindly following the democratic mayor.

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Syracuse Common Councilor Nader Maroun will step down from his position after serving four terms. He says his biggest concern going forward is the city's budget.

“I’m always an advocate of robust debate. It’s not a matter of whether you’re aligned with a particular administration or not. Listen well to what the administration is putting forward, but be prepared to do your homework and understand the not-so-obvious consequences of decisions that you make.”

His advice to the incoming council, which will include four new faces, is to do your homework on the wide variety of issues the city faces.

“The learning curve for some of the new councilors will take some time. Understand the issues; ask the questions. Don’t just go along and give your vote. When you get the agenda on Wednesdays, ask questions of department heads; ask questions of your constituency. Come back prepared to vote intelligently based on that. People are counting on you to do that.”

Maroun spent a lot of time on neighborhood issues and projects … but his biggest concern going forward is the city’s budget.

“We’re a year or year-and-a-half left in terms of our rainy-day fund. State aid has been flat for the past 7-8 years. We have a declining sales tax. We have a reduced tax base. If the city is not going to be solvent, then we’ll have a fiscal control board from the state. And that will mitigate the council having much influence.”

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Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner released the final budget of her administration Monday, which she says was made more difficult by the late state budget and uncertainty about federal funding. The $700 million spending plan includes $293 million for city operations, and $407 million for city schools, which anticipated $20 million in additional state aid. But Miner says the state only came through with $12 million in its budget approved Sunday night.

One of the long-time members of the Syracuse Common Council who’s leaving this year has seen a lot of change in the city. Van Robinson ends 18 years of service as president and a councilor. His tenure in the city has an interesting spanning-of-generations since he came to Syracuse.

“The mayor was Bill Walsh. And as I leave my political life, it’s ironic but the mayor-elect is his grandson Ben Walsh. I wish the incoming administration all the luck in the world. There’s a new city that has to be built.”